Fire!
by fanakapan
Summary: Kirsten and Sandy go out to their normal restaurant, but things go very differently this time..
1. Chapter 1

'8 o'clock?'

'The usual, honey. And we're getting the usual table.' Sandy smiled at his wife as she inserted a glittering emerald earring into her left ear. She turned to face him:

'Ok. It'll be good, we haven't been there for ages.' She moved closer and added:

'I haven't seen you for ages.' Sandy kissed her forehead and watched her as she went out of the room. Twenty minutes later she had arrived at her office and five minutes after that engaged in her first argument of the day with her father.

Later that day

'Hey, mom, so is it ok if Summer comes round tonight?' Kirsten eyed her son inquiringly and asked: 'As in….?' Seth rolled his eyes impatiently.

'Yeah, mom, as if I'd ask for your permission to have Summer to sleep here. I mean…no what I meant was for dinner. Nothing special planned is there? I mean, we're not trying a new takeout menu are we, because that's an experience I know you wouldn't want to share..'

'Yes Seth, that's fine. We're out though, so don't…do anything.'

Seth was about to retaliate but then decided the conversation could only get more embarrassing. Kirsten went upstairs and sat down on the bed, relieving the stress of being in such close proximity of her father for a marathon nine hours. When Sandy came in she had fallen back on the pillow and gone to sleep. There was still 45 minutes before they needed to go, and he thought a power nap would do her good- her face was looking pale and the skin around her eyes was stretched and dark.

He placed her the right way round on the bed and he face fell down into the crook of his elbow and he lay down beside her, breathing the familiar scent of her hair.

'Dad!' yelled Seth from downstairs, 'Have you been watching my DVDs? The ones which I created a parental firewall barrier around?' Sandy sighed: sometimes he wondered at how Seth had managed to inherit fromthemhis unequaled strangeness. Not wanting to disturb his wife he lay silent, hoping Seth would sort himself out. Sure enough:

'Oh, don't worry dad- not that you were or anything- I remember what happened now. I gave a few to Summer to build on our 'Things in Common List' which at the moment stands at zero…' Seth's voice faded way; Kirsten's head moved and he looked down at her face which was warm against his arm. Given the time Kirsten took to get ready normally, Sandy decided she should be woken so he kissed her face, moving down from the forehead to her lips.

'Sandy? Oh God, what's the time? I'm so sorry.' Sandy smiled and wrapped his other arm around her, pulling them closer together.

'Honey, it's ok- we've got plenty to time so you can do…whatever you do before going out.'

She replied: 'Uh huh, how much time?' and raised her eyebrows.

'Well, you know, there are a few spare minutes. Got something in mind?' She raised her face so that she spoke right into his ear:

' I don't think there's much we can do that takes up so little time..unless…' She bit his ear lobe gently. Sandy smiled and rolled her on top of him. His face was right above his, their noses almost touching:

'Unless we're very quick.' He finished.Fifteen minutes later, Kirsten hurried down the stairs, her face flushed and her feet bare.

'Honey,put your shoes on in the car.' Sandy held the door open for her and she stepped tentatively onto the doormat.

'Sandy, it's dirty. Wait one second...' She bent down to put her shoes on but Sandy picked put his arms round her waist and picked her up saying: 'Hold on hun. Don't let go of me or the shoes.' Kirsten yelled at him to put her down, laughing through her complaints. She squeezed her arms round his neck so tightly that Sandy had trouble breathing.

'Kirsten, you're one inch off the ground, there's no need to strangle me.' She opened the car door with her foot and they fell into the car, Kirsten hitting her head on the gear lever.

'Oh, honey, did that hurt?' said Sandy sarcastically, rubbing his neck. He then noticed the clock on the dashboard and with an exclamation of long-suffering exasperation he got into the car.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They pulled up at the restaurant ten minutes later and hurried inside.

'Hi, sorry we're late- the traffic at this time of night is appalling. Cohen- the table...yes that's us.' They followed the waiter, waving to people in the restaurant who Sandy was sure he'd never seen before; but then, he thought, a Newpsie is a Newpsie, they're all the same to me. They sat at the table where they always sat and ordered the same bottle of wine, revelling in the simple pleasures each other's company.

Half an hour later, every head in the restaurant (apart from the deaf old woman next to their table who was continuing to complain about the wilting petunias on her front porch) was turned towards the kitchen from where loud shouts in various languages were being emitted.

'Sandy..can you smell..?'

'Fire!' shrieked a woman sitting closest to the kitchen. A waiter tumbled through the swinging doors of the kitchen.

'Ladies, gentleman, please do not worry. We've just had a slight accident, everything is under control.' Most people turned back to their dining partners, occasionally looking back at the kitchen with worried expressions. A few called the waiter over and gestured angrily at the kitchen or asked for bill and hurried out of the restaurant.

'Do you want to go?' Sandy asked his wife who was still gazing in the same direction, but she shook her head:

'No- I mean if it was serious a fire engine would've come, or they would've evacuated us or something, wouldn't they?'. He smiled reassuringly at her and started to eat again. However five minutes later, everybody in the restaurant was pushing to get out in panic as smoke gradually filled the room. Men yelled at each other whilst grasping their wives and attempting to bulldoze a path through the people in front of them.

Suddenly, the lights went out and the orange glow coming from the kitchen was seen by all. There was a soft purr as the sprinklers on the ceiling turned on and sprayed the whole room with a mist of water. There was a loud bang in the kitchen and the glass window in the door shattered whilst various appliances cracked and jumped as they fused. Sparks flew from a light above the crowd and people screamed, now in terror. A few women began to sob in fright and clung to their husbands, whilst the mass of people continued to squeeze through the narrow door like toothpaste coming out of a tube. Sandy wrapped his arms round his wife as she shivered and stared at the flames started to catch the carpet.

'We need to get out another way. Baby, come this way; don't worry, I'll get you out.' Kirsten said nothing but followed her husband, not noticing that her feet were being cut up the broken glass as she had lost her shoes somewhere in the scramble for the door. They reached the window, through which they could see Newport beach, calm and grey. Several people had followed them and one man rushed forward, gripping a chair with a both hands. It collided with the window and there was another crash as the huge pane of glass broke, sending large shards all over the group.

Sandy saw it coming as he stood behind his wife, encircling her trembling body with her arms. He tried in vain to protect her with his hands, not having time to push her out of the way before the storm of glass hit them. He felt rather than heard her sharp cry of pain as she fell back into his arms. He also felt the warm blood over his own right hand and wished he could feel some pain which would mean it was his blood that he felt. But her saw her closed eyes and felt her limp body, and in one movement gathered her in his arms and climbed out of the window, oblivious to the raw, sharp borders of the remaining window frame that dug into his thigh. He was numb to all else apart from the heavy burden he carried and the liquid that was now running down his arm.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews, appreciated!**

Chapter 3 

Kirsten opened her eyes and immediately closed them again. The artificial light of the room was too much for her eyeballs, raw from the smoke, to deal with.

'Mrs Cohen- you've woken up!' She decided not to bother replying to this statement, of which she was perfectly aware herself. She soon began to regret regaining consciousness as various parts of her body began to throb with pain. She tried to move but found her body would not obey her commands and she took a short, panicked gasp of fear.

'Don't worry- you're not paralysed but I wouldn't try moving again. The pain is probably enough whilst you're still.' Kirsten opened her eyes again and saw a young woman hovering above her. A man appeared next to her and Kirsten recognised him as a doctor.

'I'm glad you're awake- it's been over ten hours since you came in. Luckily your wounds weren't deep, although you lost of blood.' He turned to the nurse:

'Now there's space in the Burns Unit so if you could move some of the patients in there. Most of them will probably be panicking- sedate them if necessary- and try and find out about relatives and…you know what to do.'

An image suddenly came back to Kirsten: a huge pane of glass shattering into thousands of tiny sharp pieces that flew towards her unprotected body. Unprotected apart from the hands that shielded her face, the hands of..

'Sandy.' She croaked and the doctor turned back to her.

'Sorry? You're quite heavily sedated- if you're feeling any pain call for me or a nurse.' He bent down to her and inspected something on her shoulder. He then reached for an instrument on the trolley next to her bed and she felt a sharp stab of pain.

'Kirsten! Oh my God, look at you. Doctor, is she going to be ok?' Another face loomed into Kirsten's vision: it was Sarah, one of the many people she had recognised in the restaurant before it was engulfed in fire. Sarah had a huge plaster stuck to the right side of her face and she was being supported by the arm of her fourth husband- Kirsten didn't know this one, she had lost track after the second divorce.

'Where's Sandy?' she whispered and Sarah looked at her blankly, before she seemed to remember something and looked quickly at her husband.

'I….haven't seen him. Kirsten, I'm going to and phone your house- your son…I'll be back.'

'Is Sandy your husband? He was at the restaurant? When did you last see him?' the doctor had straightened up from dissecting her shoulder. She remembered a million sharp stabs of pain in her body and a feeling as though someone had plunged a knife into her stomach. She remembered her mind going blank as she fell backwards but never hit the floor. The doctor had called the nurse over again and was talking to her in a low voice.

'She came in on an ambulance with who?' The nurse replied, gesturing behind her. 'So there wasn't a man in the ambulance? She was just lying on the ground by herself?' The doctor swung round to Kirsten again:

'Mrs Cohen, are you sure your husband was with you at the restaurant? When did you last see him.' Kirsten was confused: Sandy can't have gone. Sandy rescued me. Sandy always rescues me.

'Mrs Cohen, calm down. We'll find him. Breathe slowly.' The doctor bent over her again as her breathing quite fast and shallow. He snapped his fingers at the nurse who reached up above the bed and handed him an oxygen mask which he fixed over her mouth.

'We'll put you back on this, it'll help you breathe. I'm going to find your husband Mrs Cohen so don't worry.' But Kirsten's mind had gone dark again- she couldn't cope with the painful thought of Sandy being gone even with the large amount of sedation she was presently under.

Seth and Ryan were sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table, each picking at a bagel.

'So mom and dad still aren't back yet.' Said Seth.

'They could be in bed.' Suggested Ryan without any belief in what he said.

'Ryan. Have you noticed the floor is dry?' Ryan looked quizzically at Seth, wondering what, if anything, this was coming to:

'Therefore, Ryan, there is a severe lack of evidence to prove dad has been surfing which kind of proves he is not present. Also, Ryan..' Seth sniffed the air, 'Do you smell coffee?' Ryan was now sure Seth's Sherlock Holmes impression was severely lacking in a point.

'Because I don't, Ryan, and no coffee in the morning means no mother.' He concluded.

'Seth, their car isn't here.' Ryan pointed out.

'I was coming to that as another valuable piece of evidence…' The phone rang and Seth leapt from his chair and picked it up before it had even rung twice. Ten minutes later the abandoned bagels lay on the abandoned table as they slammed the door behind them.

'Hey mom. Are you…kind of…alive?' Seth looked in his mother who was barely recognisable under the swathes of bandages and the mask that covered most of her face. She reached up to the mask and attempted to pull it off but was too weak to manage so Seth tentatively pulled it off, expecting her to stop breathing straightaway.

'Hey. I'm so glad you're here. I'm so sorry you didn't know till now.'she whispered.

'Mom, it's not as if you could of done anything about it. So is dad ok?' Kirsten dropped her eyes from the boys and felt like she was choking in the smoke all over again. So if Sandy wasn't at home and if Sandy wasn't here, where else could he be.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Sandy fell onto the ground as his injured leg gave way. There were lights everywhere which provided a huge contrast to the dark interior of the restaurant which had been lit only by the soft but ominous glow that had spread quickly. He took off his jacket and laid it over his wife: he saw the blood all over her body and the piece of the glass the size of the palm of his hand stuck in her stomach. He stroked her face, his hands covered by her blood and his own.

'Baby, wake up. Don't do this, come on.' He whispered in a voice taught with pain. He looked back at the jagged hole through which they had come and saw, illuminated in the orange light, a silhouette that was struggling to climb out of the burning room. He looked back at his wife and yelled at a shocked young couple nearby to help her. They nodded at him blankly and came to sit down by her motionless figure. The young woman retched at the sight of her wounds but the man nodded at Sandy as if he understood. Then Sandy rose painfully and staggered back to the window. He recognised the figure as the old lady who had been sitting next their table and who had been obsessed with her flower bed. She was gazing hopelessly at the edge of the broken window, making no progress as the flames made their way towards her.

'Hey! Hold onto me. Be careful- the glass is very sharp.' She looked up at him with tired eyes:

'I can't get over here I'm afraid. Don't worry about me.' Sandy grabbed her by the armpits and started to haul her through the hole. She said nothing but gazed at him with wide eyes. When half of her frail body was through the window Sandy put his arms round her waist and heaved her clear of it, beyond caring how many cuts and gashes she sustained. He lay on the ground once more with the body of the old woman lying across him. Then, astonishingly, she got up and although wobbling unsteadily with her breaths coming short and ragged from her throat she said:

'You wait there. You've done enough. I'll go to find someone.' Sandy watched helplessly as she tottered off. He immediately thought off his wife, lying cold and injured on the ground, but when he tried to get up his mind blacked out because of the pain and he fell back onto the ground.

At the same time, two more ambulances arrived at the scene, bringing the total count to six. The young couple, still sitting by Kirsten, lifted their arms in the hope of attracting help, as they were unable to speak due to shock and the amount of smoke in their lungs. A man rushed over to them and swore at the sight of the body lying there. He yelled to someone to come and help him and soon two more strained looking ambulance workers hurried up, carrying a stretcher. One of them led the young couple away whilst the other two lifted the light body of Kirsten onto the stretcher, the original man swearing again at the amount of blood she had lost. Five minutes later the ambulance containing Kirsten was speeding down the streets, sirens blaring, followed by a convoy of similar vehicles containing shocked and injured people who, half an hour previously had been enjoying an expensive but delicious meal.

Sandy woke up, the mists of his mind gradually fading away but the pain of his leg growing steadily stronger. He could hear voices quite close to him and the merciless crackling of the fire which had haunted his sleep had vanished. He tried to look at his leg but was unable to twist round and get a proper look at the damage that was causing him so much pain. No more surfing for a while then, he thought. In a more successful attempt to get up, Sandy held onto a pillar that was stuck in the ground next to him, and looked around. It was still quite dark but he could see the ruined building whose blackened walls stood only five metres from here he was. Suddenly a beam of bright light hit him straight in the eyes and, shutting them, he felt immediately dizzy and clutched the pillar.

'Oh my God, look at this.' The firefighter was staring in disbelief at the dark stains all over the ground and the burnt remnants of varying outfits and their accessories. However his partner, who was wielding a torch, spotted Sandy cowering from the light and rushed forward to support him.

'Hey, Fred, get some of those doctor people over here. This one needs some help.' Fred departed but soon returned with the same ambulance man who had led the guardians of Kirsten's body to an ambulance.

He hurried over to Sandy, who was still swaying on the spot, and peered into his eyes.

'How the hell did we miss him?' he spoke more to himself than anyone else. Then, bending down, he looked at the mess on the back of Sandy's leg and took a short intake of breath. He looked at Sandy's unfocused eyes once more, saying:

'Sir, stay with me ok? You've lost a lot of blood. We need to get you to hospital before that leg becomes septic..' he supported Sandy by holding him under his armpits and yelled in the direction of where he had come from:

'Guys I need help here right now. Bring a stretcher and for God's sake hurry up.' Sandy's vision was starting to cloud over with the same mists of pain and dizzyness that he had experienced before. Just in time, two men ran up with a stretcher which supported him as he toppled over, and he knew nothing more.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

'Get this guy on a drip right now and get him in a proper bed. Bring me instruments and I want a hell of a lot of space and time with no disturbances. Get that- no interruptions.' Dr Howard was extremely stressed. In the last hour sixty people had arrived as a continuous flow and just as he thought the worst had passed, they bring in this guy who, as well as having a leg that looks like it had been chewed up by a machine, had lost a huge amount of blood. Their blood stocks were running low- about 2 pints were being fed in the body of the man's wife at that very moment, although no one was aware of this fact. Oh, and just to add to the extent of his suffering, he had been left lying on the ground, in a wet suit, for a good five hours which meant his chances of having or getting hypothermia were immediately pretty high.

'Get some of this blood of him.' Most of the blood covering Sandy's hands and torso was not his own but his wife's, but no one knew this fact either.

'Seth? Are you ok?' Ryan, after wandering the hospital for ten minutes, had found Seth sitting on the floor, talking to his polystyrene coffee cup. By the time Ryan had sat down next to him, the cup had been obliterated and Seth turned to Ryan.

'No Ryan, frankly I am not ok. I am not even near the border of ok-land, I'm stuck in the land of 'My mother is on a ventilator and looks an Egyptian mummy and my father is….'…. Yeah, see that's one of my problems: where the hell is my dad?' he yelled, and attracted the attention of an old woman being wheeled past in a wheelchair: her legs were covered in bandages and parts of her arms were also enclosed by dressings. She was in the process of telling the tired looking nurse who was pushing her about how she was rescued from a burning building by 'the bravest gentleman she had ever encountered'. Then she was wheeled to the side of the corridor to make way for a swiftly moving mass of nurses and doctors. As the group quickly passed by, three astonished people were left in its wake, shocked at the glimpse of the person on the stretcher they had all seen and whom they all thought they recognised.

'Kirsten Cohen? Your husband has just been brought in.' Kirsten awoke from her inert state and immediately she started to cry, tears welling up at the point where her bandages met her face. She made no sound and wasn't able to understand the emotion she felt as the tears continued to fall. The nurse made to comfort her, not sure whether to disobey the instructions she had been given and not tell the emotional and fragile woman about the true state of her husband. As she was pondering this, Seth arrived at his mother's side:

'Hey, mom, it's ok. Shhh.' Seth stroked his mothers hair, trying to block out the panic he felt at this un-natural state of affairs- it shouldn't be me comforting her, he thought, it shouldn't be stroking her hair to calm her down, it shouldn't be me who has tell her what she has to know.

Kirsten turned her blue eyes onto her sons brown ones and she saw in him her husband.

'Seth.' She whispered, and her fingers tightened round her sons, trying to convey to him that he must tell her more.

'Mom. Dad's…pretty bad. But they're going to fix him- there is an actual surgeon with him, and he says dad's going to be fine. But he's…bad.' Seth's voice shook but the desperate look in his mother's eyes compelled him to stay calm.

'Mrs Cohen? We need to give another injection I'm afraid as we need to do some work on your that cut in your stomach.' The nurse unwrapped a bandage covering the wound and Seth grimaced- what he saw there wasn't a cut, it was a hole.

'Mom, don't worry ok? I'll see you later.' Seth continued to hold her hand whilst the nurse injected her in the arm. She whimpered and the pathetic cry tore at Seth's heart and when her eyelids dropped and her grip on his hand loosened, the tears at last began to fall.

Two hours later, Seth and Ryan were driving home. They were both silent, Seth because he didn't want to cry in front of Ryan and Ryan because he knew that is why Seth didn't want to speak. The sound of Ryan's phone ringing cut through the silence and he answered it:

'Hey Marissa. Yeah I'm fine.' There was a silence and Ryan glanced over at Seth. 'Yeah. Ok. That'd probably be good. See you then.' He hung up:

'Marissa and Summer and coming round. They figured it's not good to be alone. And apparently Summer's really into X-men now and wants to watch the next one.' Seth smiled and looking at Ryan he nodded:

'Yeah. I knew it'd be just her kind of film.'

They arrived back at the house at 3.30 in the afternoon and found Marissa and Summer waiting for them.

'Hey.' Summer slipped her hand into Seth's. 'The first X-lady is ready to do battle against the all round X-files geek. Do you accept the challenge?'

'Are you sure you're ready for this? Because I don't want to you to feel dejected or anything when you lose.' Replied Seth.

'Ah, Cohen, don't dismiss the challenge so lightly….' They advanced towards the television whilst Ryan and Marissa held back.

'You ok?' she asked.

'Yeah. Thanks for coming, Seth really needed someone to spill out his feelings to in an X-men kind of format.' Marissa raised her eyebrows at him, smiling.

'And I really needed…you.' They followed the others to the television and settled down to a X-men marathon.

At the hospital, Dr Howard was completing his second hour of tending to Mr Sandy Cohen, whose wife, he had been notified, was recently stabilised from a period of critical condition in a nearby ward. Sandy was still having blood pumped into his body, and the colour was gradually returning to his face. His leg had been a hell of a mess and, although it still resembled something far from a normal human leg, the chances of infection had been greatly reduced and it was now closed up by an uncountable number of stitches. Mr Howard was pleased with his handiwork and ordered the nurse to keep a close eye on him.

'Dr Howard- his wife..' This nurse had been tending to Kirsten and seen the effects the news of her husband had brought.

'I'll go and see her.' Said the doctor and thought to himself: 'If I don't drop dead from tiredness before I get there.'

He approached the bed of Kirsten Cohen not knowing quite what to expect- he wasn't sure if the conversation he was about to have would be completely one-sided with himself talking to an inert, sedated body. Or it could be the opposite, where he would have to talk to an emotional wreck to whom even just the name of her husband had the power to get her back on the ventilator. He sincerely hoped it would not be the latter case. She opened her eyes when she sensed someone approaching and saw yet another doctor standing by her bed. Although she was mostly covered in bandages, her fragile beauty was clear to the doctor. The expression in her eyes, haunted and hopeless, was awful to see and the doctor was thankful that he wasn't bringing the bad news she was obviously expecting.

'Mrs Cohen.' He sat down beside and she turned her head to face him, showing no emotion.

'Your husband..' she let out a small sharp breath, the only clue to the inner agony she was in, and the doctor continued quickly:

'He's going to be fine. Both of you are going to be out of here within a week.' The change in the atmosphere surrounding the woman and in herself could almost be felt. Her face became peaceful and her eyes relaxed. She said nothing to him but she expressed her gratitude in the look she gave him and the new, warmth of feeling that radiated from her. He nodded at her and walked away, now in an extremely good mood and feeling rather heroic.

**Ok so I thought ending on a happy note for once would be nice! I'm not going to be able to churn out the chapters at such high speeds any more because I'm back to school tomorrow and they've blocked the site from the school computers…so unless I can find a way to hijack the school filters there's going to be a bit of a pause in the story! May do another chapter tomorrow…thanks for the reviews!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

Kirsten couldn't sleep. Whenever she closed her eyes she saw the beautiful but deadly hailstorm of glass shards moving noiselessly towards her through the dark. She thought of asking the nurses to sedate her more heavily again, both so that she could sleep and also to combat the dull ache that continuously throbbed through her body. However she knew no amount of sedation would heal this pain. Kirsten wanted Sandy: his voice, his smell, his quiet strength, his love.

She lay, listening to the continuous beep of the machine above her head, and thought about her husband. In ten minutes time, her eyes were closed and her breathing peaceful as she dreamed about happier times.

'Mrs Cohen?'. Kirsten turned her head and saw an old woman in a wheelchair being transported to her bedside.

'Yes- sorry, have we met?' The woman shook her head:

'No, we haven't.' She said nothing more but continued to gaze at Kirsten who started to wonder if she had escaped from a different unit of the hospital (possibly the 'old people who are going slightly senile**'** department') or if she had been overdosing on sedative.

'Can I help you?' she asked, hoping this would be the stimulus the old woman needed to return to her bed or just to wheel herself off to the bedside of another poor unsuspecting patient.

'Your husband is called Sandy Cohen.' Kirsten started to get more concerned now- this woman seemed to be acting rather like a stalker. She pondered whether ringing the bell by her bedside would be going a bit too far in order to get rid of her unwanted visitor.

Before she had decided what to do, the old woman spoke again and Kirsten was relieved to hear that this sentence was relatively sane-sounding:

'Sorry, dear, I'm being…very rude. They keep giving me these pills you see…' A nurse who was tending to the patient in the next door bed cut in:

'Mrs Clapham was in the same accident as you, Mrs Cohen.' Kirsten now understood- the effects of being constantly sedated were bound to have adverse effects people as old the one sitting next to her.

'Yes dear, thankyou. I'm just here to tell you that your husband is a very good man. A very brave man. He saved my life.' She put her wrinkled hand on top of Kirsten's and was about to continue when Seth suddenly appeared behind her. He looked at the old woman and wondered what she had said to make his mother cry.

'Hey, mum…' Kirsten suddenly noticed her son and gazed up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.

A nurse hurried over: she was under strict orders not to put Mrs Cohen under any stress or emotion whatsoever as her sedation levels had recently been reduced. She hadn't heard what the wheelchair bound woman had said to Kirsten but she did see the effect it had had, and she laid her hands on the handles of the wheelchair, preparing to take Mrs Clapham back to her bed.

'If he didn't already have a wife like you, I might have gone for him myself.' Mrs Clapham cackled at her own joke as she was wheeled away from the bed.

'Wow, mum, you've got some competition there.' Seth knelt down next to his mother.

'She looks quite sprightly- good for her age. But don't worry, she's harnessed into her wheelchair very firmly so I don't there's much of a chance she could get at dad without having a heart-attack.' Tears continued to run down his mother's face; Seth hated to see this uncontrolled emotion and didn't know what more to say.

'I need Sandy.' She whispered. Seth had known this was going to come soon.

'Mum, that's not a good idea right now.' Her eyes filled with pain and concern.

'Why can't I see him Seth? You said he was going to be fine. I need to see him.' She looked so vulnerable and helpless; Seth had never seen his mother like this. Part of him wanted to grant her wish and take her to Sandy but the other part knew this would only increase her pain. He had no idea what to do and wished that his parents were able to tell him, but at the moment he seemed to be the one on whom they depended. He got up, removing his hand.

'Seth don't go, please…'. He wanted to burst into tears like a child but he knew this time there would be no one there to comfort him. He walked back from the bed, trying to tear his eyes away from his mother's distraught gaze.

'Are you ok? There's nothing you can do.' A nurse spoke softly to him and put her arm gently on his shoulder. She understood, although did not feel, the pain the boy was going through and proceeded to do the only thing she could to help him.

'I'm going to put her back on a higher dosage of sedative.' Seth nodded- the guilt he felt tore at his heart but he knew this was the only thing to do that would blank out his mother's pain for her. The nurse patted his back.

'Go home, get some rest. She'll be asleep in five minutes.' He turned and walked away from her bed, wishing there was some way of blanking out his own pain.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks again for reviews**

Chapter 7

'Hey, man, you ok?' Ryan had just entered the kitchen and found Seth sitting at the table, staring ahead of him.

'Seth?' Ryan had noticed a change in him, ever since he had returned from the hospital yesterday. He had been there with Seth the previous morning but they had found both parents sleeping, and during school yesterday he had been unaware Seth had returned to the hospital once more.

'What happened yesterday? Both Sandy and Kirsten are going to be fine.' Seth looked up at him, and nodded his head although the look on his face was far from positive.

'Do you want to go to the hospital?' Ryan wondered if Seth was just missing his parents- If that was the case, he definitely wasn't going to get confirmation of it from Seth.

'No. I don't want to go back there, Ryan. I can't…do it. I can't help her.' Ryan was now extremely worried about him; what he had just heard was certainly not the average Seth comment. He pulled out a chair and put his arm round Seth's shoulders.

'Mum wanted to see dad so bad, Ryan, but I couldn't let her do that. And she was so…..I left her Ryan. I just left her there.' They sat at the kitchen table for a long time and although Seth said nothing more, Ryan knew his presence was a comforting one.

Meanwhile at the hospital Sandy had woken up. The first thing he thought of was Kirsten and he looked around him, hoping to see her there. The bed on his right was empty and in the bed on his left..

'He's awake!' Mrs Clapham was pleased that she had been the one to spot his eyes opening first, as she had been keeping a constant vigil of her hero since she had been dispatched from the old people's ward after annoying the other patients by constantly repeating the story of how she had been 'carried from a burning building by a true hero.' Her story had become increasing exaggerated to point where Sandy was described as 'a selfless, courageous angel who sacrificed himself to save the life of an old, insignificant woman like herself'. This was why she had been placed in the bed right next to Sandy; there was noone on the other side of her to complain about her constant whisperings to the unconscious man on her right. The nurses weren't sure yet what they were going to do with her when Sandy woke up- subjecting him to her endless worshipping would probably put him straight into a coma. So when the nurse on duty heard the old woman's excited cry, she immediately called for someone to 'take charge' of Mrs Clapham. Sandy stared at the woman next to him and croaked:

'Where's my wife?' Mrs Clapham was about to reply with some adoring but unhelpful comment but she was suddenly heaved out of her bed by two nurses and within two minutes she was strapped back into her wheelchair and was being wheeled briskly out of the ward, leaving a trail of feeble protests.

'Mr Cohen, how are you feeling?'

'Well…Ok actually. Wait, I can't feel my legs- do I still have legs?' The nurse smiled and nodded.

'That's good. Can I see my wife?'

'Er, Mr Cohen you've just woken up. You've been asleep for over 56 hours you know..' She stopped when the Dr Howard approached and took her arm.

'Ah Mr Cohen it's good to see you awake. One minute..' He turned his back on Sandy and spoke to the nurse quietly:

'We're bringing his wife in…' The nurse made a comment and gestured at Sandy and the machine above his head. '..Yes, I know..but we can't just sedating her….she's not to going to get any better if we don't..' he glanced at Sandy and said:

'I wish my wife loved me as much as yours loves you.' They turned away and the doctor shouted instructions to various other nurses, inwardly praying he was doing the right thing.

The nurse pushing Kirsten's wheelchair hoped he would never have to go through the same emotionally and physically shattering experience this woman had experienced. However he did hope that one day when he got married his wife would depend on him as much as this tired but beautiful woman did on her husband. Dr Howard and another nurse walked alongside him: all three were nervous- would the sight of her husband just snap her already thin thread of remaining self-control.

'Hey baby.' Said Sandy when he saw his wife. Her fragility and vulnerable beauty tore at his heart, and when the tears began to overflow from her tired eyes he lifted up his arms with difficulty and reached out to her.

'Sandy..' she whispered and fell forward into his arms. A nurse started forward, worrying about both of their injured bodies, but a look from the doctor stopped her. He waved his hand to dismiss the nurses; he respected the privacy of all his patients, and knew this should be between Sandy Cohen and his wife alone. He himself stayed though; he felt responsible for them. The simple sight of her lying in his arms brought tears to his eyes:

'Christ, definitely time to get some sleep' he thought as he sniffed loudly. The same nurse who had been with Sandy before approached him:

'Doctor, go home- I can take care of this.' He nodded to her and gave a few instructions before walking unsteadily towards the door; he realised the main reason he had not left the hospital since Kirsten arrived was because he felt it had been up to him to make her happy again. As he swayed dangerously near the doorpost he vowed to call in a psychiatrist next time he had to deal with something like that.

Two hours later Seth and Ryan arrived at the hospital: Ryan had at last persuaded Seth to come with him to the hospital so that he could sort things out. However when they reached Kirsten's bed and found it empty, Ryan began to wonder if he'd done the right thing.

'Er…is Mrs Cohen alright?' he asked the nurse on duty, praying the reason for her absence wasn't something terrible. However the nurse, recognising Seth, smiled at them and led them herself to another ward.

'There you go. Your parents are together in here now. They'll be out very soon.' On adjacent beds lay Kirsten and Sandy; she was asleep, this time not due to sedatives, and Seth felt a huge weight lifted of his shoulders as he gazed her peaceful face.

'Hey guys. How are things?' They were surprised to hear Sandy's voice from the pile of bandages and sheets.

'Hey! Dad! I'm glad to see you and your eyebrows are mobile once more. By the way, you're being hunted down by a real man-eater of a granny. Beware.'


	8. Chapter 8

'Seth, I know I said I was bored, but I _was_ never and never _will_ be bored enough to here more of this.' Sandy, although he was happy to be last free of drugs that continually put him to sleep, was now wishing sleep would come more easily. For the last fifteen minutes Seth had been retelling the story of his favourite DVD to his father: he was playing the parts of ten different characters single-handedly, and his attempts to make each character sound unique by using a different voice was proving both amusing and painful to hear.

'How about you continue tomorrow?' Sandy said hopefully, and then:

'Seth! Be careful of your mother. She doesn't know how lucky she is being asleep right now..' Seth had nearly whacked Kirsten's sleeping face with his hand as he acted out a scene where one character bashed another to death with a saucepan. Just then Ryan ran into the room with Marissa in tow.

'You've got visitors.' Ryan didn't even want to ask what Seth was doing and so just looked at him, eyebrows raised.

'Ohhhh I just got the Ryan look that has the power to turn mere mortals like myself into stone.' Seth froze in such a position that a nurse wheeling a patient past in a wheel chair increased her pace, worried her patient's health would suffer if he caught a glimpse of the bizarre sight

'Hi Marissa, how are….oh my god, Seth wake up your mother.' Into the ward walked Julie Cooper, wearing a bright pink dress and matching shoes. She held a basket in one hand and a huge envelope in the other.

'Julie! Well, here's a sight for sore eyes!' Julie smiled sweetly at him and proceeded to sit on Kirsten's bed.

'I'm so sorry to hear about what happened- apparently you were quite the knight in the shining armour, Sandy.'

'How does she know about that?' Sandy looked sharply at Seth and Ryan who both shrugged.

'Oh god, has that old woman been let loose?' said Sandy suddenly.

'Ah, could be. I haven't heard of any new accidents caused by her in her wheelchair recently.' Marissa looked at Ryan questioningly and so he explained to her that Mrs Clapham had had some problems with the control of her wheelchair, culminating in running over one of the nurses as she walked down the corridor.

Kirsten had opened her eyes when she felt someone sit on her leg, but closed them again when she saw who it was. However as Julie shifted her weight and put more pressure on Kirsten's knee she couldn't help but comment.

'Julie, you're squashing my leg.'

'Kirsten! I'm so glad to see you're awake. Oh dear, I hope those cuts won't scar.' She examined the marks on Kirsten's face: 'They would look awful.' Kirsten smiled grimly, noticing Sandy roll his eyes.

'We're just going to…' Ryan indicated the door where Seth was already headed.

'Yeah, well, get better soon. It's weird not having you around.' Said Marissa, and then followed Ryan and Seth out of the ward.

'It certainly is. Newport without the-Kirsten and Sandy is just not the same. Here's a card from all the girls.' She presented the card to Kirsten who attempted, and failed, to look pleased.

'And here's a personal token from myself.' She put the basket down on the floor in front of her, and after glancing at her watch, said: 'I've got to dash- business appointment. Kirsten the nurse I had a quick chat with said you'd be out tomorrow so I'll see you then. Bye bye.' Kirsten smiled blankly and Sandy waved at her, a disbelieving expression on his face:

'A business appointment? Julie?' He turned to Kirsten, expecting the same disbelief from her.

'Sandy, why aren't you coming out tomorrow? Why do you have to stay in here? I thought you were off sedatives.' The same look that he had seen the day had entered her eyes: a scared, anxious one.

He wished he had been given a little longer before telling her- she still hadn't recovered completely and no one could predict how yet another distressing piece of information would affect her. He tried to speak in as much of a carefree way as he could manage:

'Oh, they're just making some checks on my leg. Y'know, just normal procedures…' he couldn't bear to lie to those haunted blue eyes: '…they think my leg may be infected and they might have to operate again. If the worst happens they may have to….do...something to stop the infection spreading. Or if the extreme worst happens, it may have already spread.' She continued to stare at him, almost disbelieving:

'Baby, I can't feel my leg. And that's quite a bad sign…but it could be just a few broken nerves; the likelihood is that I'll regain feeling of it very soon. But just in case…I'm going to have to stay in here for a while.' He stopped at looked down at his sheet, not wanting to meet her gaze. But she said nothing.

For the last 36 hours Kirsten had been slowly rebuilding her shattered mind, and now the safety and peace she felt by being with her husband had disappeared. The one thing holding her together was now breaking as well.

'No, Sandy.' She whispered. 'Please..' she had neither the will or strength to say more, and Sandy reached out to her, trying to connect with her.

'Baby, come on…don't go again. Kirsten, look at me.' She turned face towards him and the look he saw there was almost painful for him to see.

'It's ok. It's going to be fine.' He strained to reach across to her bed but couldn't quite reach. Then, Kirsten withdrew her own arm from under the sheet and stretched it out to meet his. He grasped her trembling fingers and continued to look into her eyes, hoping to appear strong so that she may gain some strength from him.

'I love you. And nothing that could happen in here is going to ruin that.' Kirsten said nothing but her shaking hand gripped his more tightly, as if she never wanted to break apart.

Ok…so sorry if you thought all the sad bits in this story had ended, and if you think it's getting a bit over-depressing please say, because I could just delete the second half of this chapter!

**Thanks for the reviews **


	9. Chapter 9

Sandy and Kirsten lay awake, each knowing the other was not asleep, but not wanting to speak.

Kirsten stared at the ceiling but did not see it. Her eyes were blurred with tears but she was not crying any more. She felt empty as if she had nothing left inside her except pain.

Sandy had his eyes closed and was trying his best to go to sleep but there was a weight on his heart that came from the fact that he knew and could feel his wife giving up and slowly becoming numb to all feeling. He did not want to speak- he would only drag her down further, and so he lay listening to her fast breathing. An hour later the situation was identical except Sandy was half-asleep, one half dead to the ward around him, the other half still functioning to keep a continuous vigil over his wife.

The bleepings around his bed faded and blurred as unconsciousness gradually and unavoidably replaced his will to stay with his wife. Sandy wished and prayed that his leg would be fine; he prayed to both God and Moses, hoping even the ramblings of his son may be able to help him and on top of all things, help Kirsten.

'I love you.' He said this almost without knowing he was speaking aloud.

He could not know how these three words tightened up Kirsten's throat to the point of choking, he could not watch how life suddenly entered her eyes again as they began to see the ward around her. He did not see her slowly sit up in bed nor heard her stand and take the two short steps to his bed.

He did feel her as she lay down beside him, her weight and her slender frame instantly recognisable to him. He also felt her shaking because of the emotion she was feeling, and when he touched her hip she jolted suddenly and took a short gasp of air. He could not turn sideways because his leg was held firmly in one place, but he pulled her body so close to his that her face was only a centimetre from his. Looking into her eyes he could see how much had been taken out of her in such a short time but could also see the glimmer of hope that had been sparked a few seconds ago. Her body fitted his perfectly, and she wrapped her arms round his torso. Still without saying anything, she buried her face in his shoulder, smelling him, feeling him, so that she knew she was part of him. For the next two hours she clung to him before returning to her bed and from then on she knew nothing would ever be able to tear them apart, and everything was going to be ok.

* * *

'I'll see you then. Don't forget about me.' Sandy smiled up at his wife who bent down and kissed his forehead.

'Of course I won't. I'll come back in a few hours.'

'No, honey, don't bother; there'll be nothing new. Go and settle back in.' Sandy looked at his wife's doubtful face and added: 'How about ringing me tonight? And force the boys over sometime so they don't completely forget they have a father.' She laughed and kissed him again.

'Off you go, honey.' He indicated the door, smiling at her unwillingness to leave. She stood for a moment, looking at him, and then left the ward. Sandy looked at the now empty bed beside him.

'Could you, er…' he indicated one of the flattened pillows and the nurse, understanding what he meant, picked it up and placed it on his bed.

'Feeling anything yet?' She poked his thigh and Sandy shrugged.

'Nope. If my leg doesn't bloody get better it will not only be the end of surfing, one passion in my life, it will be the end of my wife, the other one. So, you know…how about electrocuting it or something?' He asked and the nurse smiled sympathetically.

Sorry. We can't do that. You never know, it could still come back.' Sandy thought to himself 'well that's encouraging' but in response nodded and attempted to look positive. Dr Howard suddenly materialised at his side, looking much less stressed.

'Aha, Sandy, how's it going?' Sandy was sure he knew perfectly knew well but decided to inform the doctor on the apparent paralysis of his lower limb anyway, just for effect. In response the doctor stuck a needle into Sandy's leg and when Sandy felt nothing, agreed with him.

'Well, I'm glad everyone has the same positive attitude as me. Do we realise I am not at an accepted age for a wheelchair yet? Let alone a disabled parking permit…'

Twenty-four hours passed, Kirsten popped in twice to check up on him, and then Seth and Ryan arrived.

'Hi dad. Mum made us come.'

'It's nice to know you still have genuine feelings for your old crippled father.'

Seth grimaced: 'Dad, don't say that. I know you're old but you're not that old yet. And I refuse to be seen with my father in a wheelchair before I am settled down with a loyal and loving wife and a troop of mini-me's who, let's start praying now, have not inherited their grandfather's facial hair.' Ryan looked at Seth who took the hint and changed tack:

'So how are you feeling? Are you sure your leg is completely gone? Can I just check.' Seth bent down by Sandy's leg and straightened up again suddenly with an evil grin.

'Ryan, do that nerve thing you're doing to everyone.' He informed Sandy: 'The effects of this method are truly bizarre: I fell off my chair, Summer slapped Ryan (which I guess isn't that abnormal) and Marissa…did nothing. So actually I guess it's not that effective. But, worth a try eh?' He directed Ryan at a particularly dead-looking spot on Sandy's thigh and Ryan, with an apologetic look at Sandy suddenly pinched the flesh and twisted it sharply.

'Ow!'

'Yeah, I know, I said that too…..WAIT! DAD! You said ow! He said ow! Hellooooo- nurse?' A nurse hurried over- she had been warned about this strange boy and, as far as possible, was ordered to keep him at a fixed distance from his father. More nurses homed in on them from several directions.

'Yes! Thanks to me, my father is not going to retire early.' Cried Seth as a nurse pushed him out the way.

'Seth, shall we call Kirsten?' Ryan tried to restrain Seth from doing a victory dance but was unable to do so and he watched in exasperation as Seth terrorised an old man by bearing down on him doing a dance of half cheerleader style, half Red-Indian style.

'I am a witch doctor. Would you like me to cure you with my miracle nerve twist?' Seth suddenly noticed the sign above the old man's bed: 'Change bladder tube- current one full.' And twisted round in the middle of an Indian style victory leap.

'Okkk, I am sorry sir but I am not qualified to operate in such a sensitive region. I wish you all the best.' He reverted back to normal human being mode, knocking his leg on the bed as he did so, and limped back towards Ryan, unaware that the whole ward was watching him in disbelief as he went.


	10. Chapter 10

'You didn't call me? Seth?' The fact that she couldn't communicate her frustration with anything except her voice angered her further. 'Are you still there? I'm can't believe…SETH?'

At the hospital Seth was rolling his eyes at the ceiling and he started to blow into the mouth piece.

'Oh…pshhhhh…mum? I'm losing you….phflusshhhh…'

'Seth do not even attempt to use that on me.' His mother's voice had become quiet and seemed to Seth even more deadly. He decided the conversation should end as quickly as possible.

'Ok sorry. Wait- Ryan, what was that?' Ryan had left the hospital half an hour ago but, thought Seth, his mother wasn't to know that.

'Oh, mum, I'm going to have to leave you. Apparently there's a sign saying no mobile phones allowed. So I guess that means the end of this happy conversation- I feel it was turning sour anyway. I'll see you later then.' Kirsten stood with the phone against her ear for a few seconds after he had hung up, trying to get her annoyance at her son out of her head and think clearly what he said that was of interest. Sandy's leg..that was it. She put the phone in her pocket and hurried to the front door. As she neared it, the door opened and Ryan came in. She raised her hand at him in greeting, feeling slightly puzzled because she could have sworn that Seth had been speaking to him about 3 minutes ago. However, by the time she had realised the outright lie Seth had told her, she had pulled out of the drive and was heading towards the hospital for the sixth time in 2 days- the sixth and hopefully, she prayed, the last time.

'Hi, Kirsten Cohen. Here to see my husband.' The receptionist stared unblinkingly at her screen, her fingers darting around the keyboard.

'Er…..' she said, still not looking up. Kirsten raised her eyebrows.

'Erm…' This time she raised her head and after blinking owlishly as if to adjust from computer-mode to real-life, she addressed Kirsten.

'He's not on the register. Which means he's not in the ward.' Kirsten was about to utter an impatient question but the receptionist continued.

'In fact, he's right there.' Her hand shot up from the keyboard as if some magnetic force had been overcome and pointed behind Kirsten.

Sandy was making very slow progress up the corridor towards her; he was on crutches and was obviously finding it hard to balance. However as soon as he saw her she could see this was not dampening his spirits.

'Hey baby! I think the wheelchair option might actually have been better.' She smiled at him as he hopped towards her and took his small bag from the nurse walking beside him.

Getting into the car took a record amount of time but eventually Sandy was seated in the passenger seat with the crutches on his lap.

'It's actually much easier without the crutches, I just use them to please the nurses. Anything to get out of that place…' Kirsten put her hand on his thigh and he placed his on top of it.

'Are you ok?' he asked gently, seeing the marks on her face were still obvious.

'Yeah. I'm ok. I missed you.' He pulled her head towards his and kissed the top of it.

'It's going to be fine now.'

'Mum! And dad, too! What a joyous occasion this is- the family back together as one. And we're not even missing a leg.' Seth followed this by offering his services as a human crutch, but when Sandy took up the offer he immediately shrank away, complaining of back pains. Ryan enquired as to how his leg actually was.

'Well, it has feeling which is a good start. But it's not very strong- definitely not ready to hold my full weight yet; it takes many a year to build up to that. No, they say it should be fully recovered in about a fortnight. No surfing for at least that time.' He sighed unhappily.

'So, when I wake up you'll actually be there? Wow, Sandy. That will be nice.' Said Kirsten, and she gave an arm to her husband to help him upstairs.

'Parents, I think it's bed time. I am master of the house until you're both recovered. When you are we can go back to the dictatorship but now I want to enjoy my freedom.' Called Seth.

'Exploit your freedom, more like.' Muttered Sandy, panting as he hopped up the final step. 'But actually I think bed might be the best thing. How about you?' They reached the bedroom and Sandy sat thankfully down on the bed. He put his arms round her waist and pulled her onto his lap.

'Sandy, your leg?'

'Baby, it's not as if you weigh anything.' She leant forward and rested her arms on his shoulders, closing her eyes as his lips grazed lightly over her face. His hands moved under her top and up her back, making her skin shiver.

'I..love you.' They fell back onto the bed, forgetting everything that had happened in the last few days as they became absorbed in each other.

**The end. (I think...) sorry about not updating. There will be a new story soon, hopefully. thankyou so much reviewers**


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